You are either an optimist or a pessimist. There is no in-between. Either you go through life seeing the best in people and situations, or expecting and anticipating the worst.
When you drive through a packed parking lot, do you expect a convenient space to open up? Or are you already convinced you’ll have to park somewhere in the next county? When the weather forecast calls for a 50% chance of rain, do you take an umbrella with you? Or just trust it will hold off until you’re back home? When you look in the mirror and decide to lose 20 pounds, are you excited because you know you can do it? Or are you already reaching for that chocolate muffin, telling yourself you’ll try again next week?
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I find I am mostly a pessimist.
Hey, it’s not all bad. When I watch my favorite football team play, I go into the game convinced they’re going to lose. That way, if they actually do lose, I’m prepared for it. If they win, it’s a wonderful surprise! When a morning begins cloudy and overcast, I assume it will stay that way all day long. So when the sun comes out in the afternoon, it’s a bonus!
I bring this up because I’ve been studying the adventures of the apostle Paul. This guy was an optimist. God blinded him, told him to go preach to his enemies, and they responded by plotting to kill him, beating him, putting him in chains and throwing him into prison. If anybody had reason to have a gloomy outlook on life, it was Paul. Instead, he was singing hymns to his fellow prisoners. He figured, what’s the worst that could happen? If they kill me, I go to heaven. If I survive, I get to win more people to Jesus. I win either way!
You know, if we could get to that level of trust, nothing could ever get us down. I’d really like to become more like Paul. It’s hard to transition from a lifetime of pessimism. But the more I study about him, the more I feel like I could become a person who sees the proverbial glass half full. And if I can do it, you can certainly do it too.
See? We’re sounding more optimistic already!
EDITOR’S NOTE — Ken Lass is a retired Birmingham television news and sports anchor and an award-winning columnist for numerous publications and websites.
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